Erik Oddvar Eriksen is Professor of Political Science at ARENA.
His main research fields are political theory, public policy, European integration and the preconditions for post-national democracy.
On this blog he publishes articles and op-eds from the press, and presentations given at debates and public lectures.
The debate on the future of Europe should be a rallying cry for redeeming the promise of fraternite, which under conditions of economic globalisation can be realized only by politically catching up with it at the supranational level.
In this blog post, I draw on Norwegian experiences in arguing that there should be a second referendum on Brexit.
In this guest blog post, professor Christopher Lord of ARENA gives an alternative take on how to understand the struggle behind the Brexit negotiations.
ARENA director Erik Oddvar Eriksen explains on the LSE Brexit blog that for the UK, the "Norway option" would amount to self-inflicted subservience to the EU.
Although European states such as Norway or Switzerland have different kinds of relationships with the EU, they are all becoming increasingly integrated into it, without any formal say. These states have given up national sovereignty without any compensation at EU level, and the UK’s debate should be mindful of the hegemonic nature of relations between the EU and its closely associated non-members.
Can the Brits actually decide if they want out of the EU on the 23rd of June?
While awaiting collective European action, the refugees are thrown back and forth between states protecting their borders.
The truism is that crises create more integration. Although this has been the case in the past, there is no guarantee that it will be so in the future. Now the crises are numerous, and they also reveal the weaknesses of the EU structure.
Why has Norway ended up in a very precarious democratic situation because of its relationship with the EU? Why is the UK prime Minister saying, 'don't look to Norway'?
Bicentennial of the Constitution with an Aftertaste
In 2014, Norway celebrates not only the bicentennial of the Constitution, but also the 20th anniversary of the EEA Agreement as Norway’s permanent form of affiliation with the European Union (EU). This is a celebration with an aftertaste.
Why are we witnessing such anger over the financial crisis of the Eurozone, when so much is achieved at the same time as the EU’s revenue basis and power instruments are miniscule?
Democracy in international relations is the Achilles heel of democratic theory. Over the years Jürgen Habermas has increasingly addressed this problem and has envisaged a multilevel global constitutional system to deal with the conundrum.
The RECON-project (Reconstituting Democracy in Europe), concluded on 31 December 2011. The project that was initiated and coordinated by ARENA is now evaluated; mark: Excellent.
This is Erik O. Eriksens introduction to ARENA’s annual lecture May 2 2012: Challenges to Cosmopolitanism in Contemporary Europe, held by Professor Seyla Benhabib.
Some claim that the Norwegian ‘No’-campaigners won in 1994, but have lost ever since. Every government since 1994 has brought Norway closer to the EU. Where does this leave democracy?
The eurozone crisis is yet again a painful reminder of how challenging it is to reconcile democracy and capitalism when the political institutions are lacking. It is now the self-appointed troika - the IMF, the European Commission and the European Central Bank - that decides the Greeks’ future living conditions.
Professor Emeritus Johan P. Olsen is one of Norway’s most prominent, most renowned and most cited social scientists. In 2011 he was elected as a member of The American National Academy of Sciences because of his important contribution to scientific research.
Can there be democracy beyond the nation state, and in that case: which democracy for Europe?
Geert Mak has followed in John Steinbeck's path on his trip to the USA. Euope has much to learn from the American project whether we like it or not.
